


Diffusion

by Agent66



Series: And Now We're Falling Apart [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Episode: s05e17 Can't Go Back, Episode: s05e18 A Single Pale Rose, F/F, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Spoilers, promo spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-14 07:01:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14764851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Agent66/pseuds/Agent66
Summary: Rose Quartz was Pink Diamond. Pink Diamond was Rose Quartz. And nothing was going to be the same.Everything is falling apart and the Crystal Gem have a big problem on their hands.





	Diffusion

**Author's Note:**

> Hey gang! Now that I've managed to update the serial, I can now bring you this tidbit that would not go away. As you should have noted from the summary, this is my response to the promo for the upcoming summer episodes, so you absolutely MUST have seen the last two episodes (or heard about them) and have seen the promo for the upcoming episodes. This is part 1 of a new series I call And Now We're Falling Apart, which is supposedly going to be one of the upcoming episode titles. This series will only have two parts, though depending on what we get, that might change.
> 
> As a note, I did use two scenes from the leaks that came before the special, BUT hopefully I've written them in a way that if you HAVEN'T seen them, you aren't spoiled by again. Word to the wise, this - and the sequel to it - will probably be the only pieces I do for this particular storyline, though...it's Steven Universe. Who knows where stuff will lead.
> 
> Big thanks to [WierdKid20](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wierdkid20/pseuds/Wierdkid20) and [realfakedoors](https://archiveofourown.org/users/realfakedoors/pseuds/realfakedoors) for their help in creating this and the sequels titles. As always, thanks to you readers for checking out my stuff. Always appreciated; comments, kudos, bookmarks are the awesome and I do try to respond to comments (especially discussion topics, cause y'all should know by now, I loves me a discussion). That's enough of the business, so let's get on with the story!

As soon as Connie got the call, she was up and out the door, barely enough time for her mother to try following her and at least suggesting her daughter wait for a ride. Priyanka knew Connie tended to drop any and everything when it came to Steven and his family, but in most cases, she would at least ask before just taking off.

Strangely enough, the girl was headed over there anyway. School was about to end for the summer, so Connie had jumped at the chance to pile on the training sessions and missions that the gems typically went on; in fact, Connie was scheduled for a sword training session today with Pearl as her school had let out due to a half day.

The doctor was still on the fence about letting her daughter do dangerous and strange magical adventures, but every time she was about to put her foot down on it, her mind conjured that moment in the hospital’s hallway – the three of them cornered by strange, malformed creatures, and the two teenagers showing her just went on whenever she dropped Connie off. Since that night, there had been a few missions here and there and even a moment where the girl had proudly walked through the door stating she was a Crystal Temp.

Priyanka didn’t always understand her daughter’s relationship with the gems or even Steven for that matter, but the two of them obviously were close. Close enough that his pet lion felt comfortable to stay with them – or rather, Connie – for nearly two weeks. Connie had ranted and raved about ‘stupid boys making stupid decisions and discounting everything we’ve been training for’ for three of those days until she had to actually talk Doug out of going over there to give Steven a firm talking to.

They had made up – thankfully, though if Priya was honest with herself, she hoped these flare ups were few and far in between – and everything had been fine. At least until Connie had gotten a call from Steven about twenty minutes ago and no matter how many times she asked, it seemed the girl hadn’t gotten a reasonable answer to her “Are you okay?”

For Connie, the drive to the beach house seemed longer than usual, as though the car was stuck in molasses and the sticky substance was doing what it could to prevent her from reaching Beach City. Steven sounded so strange on the phone, like he did whenever something was bothering him, and he was afraid to tell her what that could be. The last time they spoke, he had been so giddy about the newest addition to the family – a small kitten Garnet called Cat Steven and who Steven had of course just started calling Cat or CS in order to avoid confusion.

Even his trip to visit Lars had been uneventful. He had just gone to deliver – and ultimately read – a letter he had put together to keep the pink haired teenager up to date on what was happening back home. Steven had admitted to her that things seemed so strange now, what with former Mayor Dewey working at the Big Donut, Nanafua now the current mayor, Sadie and the Cool Kids being bonafide up and comers with their band, and even the gems working alongside the town to prevent another incident like the one with Aquamarine and Topaz.

The only thing that marred all of that was the sudden departure of Lapis. Oddly enough, Connie was as saddened and disappointed about that as Steven and Peridot were; granted, Lapis barely made her list of people she tolerated, but she had thought after their disastrous run at watching Beach City, they could hopefully get a second chance at it. But now she was gone, taking the barn with her and forcing Peridot and Pumpkin back into Steven’s bathroom.

The girl barely managed to keep from throwing herself out the car once the familiar sight of the temple came into view. Priya had barely braked before Connie was out the passenger door and opening the backdoor to grab her bag, throwing a goodbye over her shoulder as she rushed towards the deck steps. Taking two at a time, the girl managed to skid to a stop before she crashed into the door proper, however she still threw it open, expecting something horrible to be going on.

Immediately her training kicked in as she surveyed the room, but she only saw Steven, Amethyst, and Peridot. The latter sat on the couch, the same confusion on her face that must have been reflected on her own; Steven and Amethyst were just standing before the green gem, though their expressions were more the type Connie remembered seeing on her parents’ face when her goldfish had died when she was six.

The face of someone who was about to deliver bad news…

 

_Several days ago_

 

This wasn’t happening.

How does a good day go bad – no, horrific - in such a short time?

_You couldn’t have known._

Garnet and Amethyst had just finished defeating and bubbling a rather difficult corrupted gem when they had walked into…

_A nightmare. That’s what this is._

It had been a great day – she and Amethyst hardly spent time together anymore, but ever since Steven had given himself over to Homeworld, she was trying to make a point of spending time with everyone that didn’t require a life or death situation. Sometimes she and Amethyst could be thick as thieves and the next moment, they could irritate the heck out of each other; though it wasn’t as bad as putting Amethyst and Pearl together.

But things had been getting better, much much better. Garnet had been so distressed and upset over Steven’s actions, especially when she hadn’t seen those actions coming. Her precognition had been off lately, incredibly so; she hadn’t even seen Lapis leaving the way she did. Oh, she wasn’t terribly surprised, to be honest, as Lapis had never given the appearance of someone who loved the Earth the way they did, but the fusion had thought the water gem was starting to get it, even if it only went as far as Peridot and Steven.

Garnet could live with Lapis being a bit standoffish with them, because she knew the former terraformer would do anything – and had done as much – to protect Steven from harm. Which is why her sudden departure was just that – sudden. Garnet had thought Lapis would’ve left years ago and the fact that she hadn’t had led the fusion into believing the water gem might be turning a corner.

Hopefully, Lapis hadn’t gone far and they’d be able to find her. In fact, Garnet had started to focus her sight on trying to see where Lapis might have fled to, not wanting to give anything away just in case her sight failed her again. After her talk with Steven – and the adoption of her little kitten friend – Garnet was feeling better about how she would view their ward in the future.

That was actually why she had decided to take Amethyst with her – like Steven, the purple gem could prove to be unpredictable at the best of times, causing her to act rashly or irresponsibly, which of course always caused tension between her and the older gems. But also like Steven, Amethyst seemed to be growing up or at least acting like the thousand year old gem she was supposed to be.

It also meant Garnet had to change her views on  _her_ , too.

That’s why when she saw that the purple gem seemed free for the day – complaining about how she had finally found a phone case for Pearl, only for the gem to be no where in the house and Steven acting oddly – the fusion had immediately tapped her on the shoulder and told her about the corrupted gem she had seen in a vision. Garnet could’ve easily taken the corrupted gem on by herself, but she had decided to follow a path where she had invited Amethyst; that path provided her a new insight into the purple gem than if she hadn’t.

It had been such a good day.

At least until they had warped back in to see Steven being teleported out of Pearl’s gem. Neither gem even knew Pearl could do something like that, though considering the fact that out of all of them, she managed to store a good deal of items inside her gem, it wasn’t  _too_  surprising, but Steven wasn’t exactly an item. Just as they walked towards them, with Amethyst all set to ask the question they both wanted, Steven said four words that changed everything.

“Mom was Pink Diamond.”

 

* * *

 

They were sitting on the couch. Steven and Pearl were trying to explain what they had just heard because they couldn’t have possibly have head it correctly. But no, it was true. Pearl could only confirm what Steven was telling them because Pearl was unable to do so, by order of…

“Rose Quartz…” Amethyst began, her voice going from shocked treble to a shocked shriek. “Was actually Pink Diamond!?”

_This isn’t happening!_

_I-I…_

_We’ve known Rose for **years**! How is this even possible!?_

_I don’t…_

_It’s not possible! She’s lying!_

_She’s not even…saying anything…_

_They kept this from us!_

_I know._

_After everything we did!_

_I-I…_

Unfusing was usually done the same way fusing was, with both components agreeing to split apart or come together when needed. Ruby and Sapphire were, for the most part, usually on the same proverbial page with each other. In most cases, when the two disagreed with each other, Garnet could feel the turmoil and knew when the split was coming. But this…

Even being hit with Jasper’s gem destabilizer felt nothing like  _this_.

This…was a serious blow to everything Garnet had ever held dear and those feelings reverberated across her components, which only served to amplify the confusion, betrayal, and heartache. Sapphire especially was not happy, which actually seemed to confuse both Garnet and Ruby; the seer was normally the calmer of the two, owing to her former diplomatic and elite status, so the surge of raw emotion was overwhelming to the fusion proper.

Garnet could feel herself pulling apart, or rather she could feel  _someone_  trying to pull out of the fusion, despite the fact that the other person was doing their utmost to keep Garnet together. But she wasn’t having  _any_  of it.

_Any of it!_

_Liar! She was a liar!_

In a burst of light, what had once been Garnet now dissolved into Ruby and Sapphire.

“Sapphire?”

It was obvious from the start that the seer was upset, extremely so, to the point where even  _Ruby_ , who had known and been fused with Sapphire for nearly eight thousand years, was stunned at her reactions.

“She lied to us!” Sapphire exclaimed. “After everything we _did_ , everything we went through, everyone we  _lost_! All of it was a lie!”

“No, Sapphire,” Pearl tried to plead. She knew there would be shock, but she never expected  _this_. “It’s not…”

“Don’t.”

The thinner gem had known Garnet, and by extension Ruby and Sapphire, for as long as the fusion had been in existence; she and Garnet had been the right and left hands to Rose during the war and even afterwards, dealing with both Amethyst and corrupted gems. Because of that, the two of them had their share of disagreements, and that didn’t include the whole Sardonyx incident.

And while there had never been any real friction between her and the smaller gems, it had taken a while before she and Ruby were comfortable with each other, on the account that she did almost poof Sapphire and despite being the Terrifying Renegade, even Pearl had some time adjusting to having a sapphire within their midst.

But in all their years together as comrades and friends, Pearl had never heard the kind of venom she did in Sapphire’s voice and never had that ever been directed at  _her_.

Even Ruby took note of it; even at the height of anger towards Homeworld, their actions had never elicited that kind of response from her partner. This wasn’t just anger, as shown from the way the former soldier could see the tears flowing from her partner’s eye and the way the liquid was starting to freeze on the floor; this was heartache like Sapphire had never experienced before.

_This is where they’ve been. The ones we couldn’t find!_

_Rose couldn’t have known!_

Sapphire couldn’t stay here, couldn’t be in the same room as the person who had kept this secret from her,  _from them_ , for all these years; she couldn’t be in the same room with the picture of the very gem who had cause this, and shamefully, she couldn’t be in the same room as the son who had been kept in the same dark abyss and carried her gem. And she couldn’t be in the same room as the one gem she loved above everything else, not when she questioned everything about their very existence, about their love for one another…

_Now she’s got me questioning my own feelings!_

The string of curse words the seer spat in her mind would’ve made Ruby proud, but despite her inner turmoil, Sapphire still held a small amount of decorum. She wasn’t going to break down here; she wouldn’t give the portrait of  _Pink Diamond_  the satisfaction. Instead, she hurried herself to stand on the warp pad, a still shocked Ruby the last thing she saw before being carried away by the warp stream.

“Sapphire, wait!”

Ruby fell to her knees as she watched the seer warp out, her destination unknown to her. How had this happened?  _Why_  was this happening? The room was silent, the occupants not only reeling from the previous announcement, but the sudden unfusing of their leader and the abrupt departure of one of her components. The silence only lasted for a few moments before the door to the bathroom opened.

Pumpkin, the lively little vegetable that had been created by Steven only a year ago, bounded into the living area before stopping suddenly, feeling the change in the normal friendly atmosphere. Her owner followed her and was also greeted by the strangeness of the situation.

“What is going on out here?” asked Peridot, as she looked around the room.

 

* * *

 

For obvious reasons, the search for Sapphire began as soon as Ruby stood up from the floor. She only had one single purpose and that was finding the seer – her instructions were clear, as was her explanation to Peridot. “Sapphire’s gone and we need to find her,” she stated. “Steven, Amethyst, you’re with me; Peridot, stay here with Pearl.”

“Don’t you think that…” Pearl began, but was immediately stopped with a look from the smaller gem.

“No, I don’t,” she hissed. Reigning herself in, Ruby adjusted her statement to be a little less harsh than originally stated. “Someone needs to stay here in case she comes back.”

Chastised, Pearl just nodded in compliance. She watched as Ruby, Steven, and Amethyst gathered on the warp pad, avoiding the still slick trail that Sapphire had left in her rush to leave. The thinner gem had a few concerns – such as allowing Steven to go when he was still reeling from what she had shown him – but feeling the heat that came from the former soldier, she kept her mouth her shut.

The familiar light encased the trio, taking them to whatever first stop Ruby thought to check, leaving the two engineers left in the house proper.

“What is going on?” Peridot asked, once the three had left. “Why are Ruby and Sapphire unfused? And where did Sapphire go? What…”

“Peridot.”

The green gem closed her mouth, finally realizing the state of things. Pearl, who had always seemed confident and sure of herself, now seemed troubled, which was troubling in itself. “I’m sorry,” the thinner gem whispered. “I…there  _is_  something going on and unfortunately, I’m not the right gem to explain it to you. Not because I don’t want to, but because I  _can’t_.” Blue eyes met green, as Pearl tried to get the smaller gem to get the gist of what she was saying.

“Do you understand, Peridot?”

Honestly, no, she didn’t, but she wasn’t going to say that. If Pearl was trying to tell her that the situation at hand was something she was unable to explain, the engineer understood  _that_ ; regardless of who she was now, Pearl was still…well…a pearl and if she ever had an owner, they could compel her to not say anything about  _anything_  should they request it.

What she didn’t understand was the context in which a previous order was now coming back to her  _now_.

Nodding, Peridot said, “I understand. Well, at least as much as I can understand without the proper context to truly understand, but…obviously this isn’t the time for explanation. But maybe it is a time for…a soothing beverage that would make you feel better?”

Pearl gave a small smile, happy that Peridot could stave off her questions until later and that she could switch gears so quickly. “I had been thinking of putting on some tea,” she replied. “I don’t believe you’ve ever tried it, have you?”

“Much like you,” Peridot responded. “I don’t feel the need for constant levels of nutrition, especially when, as gems, we don’t need such things. However…”

Here, the green gem blushed slightly and chuckled. “Amethyst bought me some of that colored, spun convection found at Funland once.”

Pearl had been going about making tea, grabbing the tea kettle and pouring water into it before placing it on the stove. The thin gem didn’t drink the tea, but the aromas were always nice and the heat that came from the mug could be soothing, especially when she was upset or conflicted over something. Upon hearing Peridot’s statement, she turned from the stove to look at her. “Cotton candy?” she asked, pulling a memory of Steven being fond of the threat.

“Yes!” Peridot exclaimed, a large grin forming on her face. “It was actually very good, very light, and watching its construction was fascinating.”

Leaning on the kitchen island, Pearl listened to the story and in depth analysis; Peridot still surprised her at times. None of them, except Steven of course, knew what to make of the green gem when she had decided to not only tell them about the cluster, but to actively help them conquer it before it caused more devastation to the planet. Seeing how Peridot begun to see the beauty of Earth and the people on it reminded the former renegade of how she had begun to see Earth…how Rose had seen Earth.

Pearl had wanted to tell Steven the truth for so long, to tell the others the secret she had been hiding for over several millennia, but unable to because of that  _damned order_  given to the very Diamond she had happily served. Even now, when it had counted, she couldn’t confirm or deny anything Steven told Amethyst and Garnet and worse, should those three have any questions, she wouldn’t be able to say anything.

And now…now the secret was out and it was no better than the day she and…she and  _Rose_  had conceived it. Things were changed, that much she was sure of; she didn’t know how badly, but she did know it wasn’t good. She couldn’t imagine what thoughts Steven now had about his mother or if the thoughts he  _did_  have had completely sullied the image they – she – had tried to present to him.

Peridot was still going on about Funland and the different rides the Shorty Squad had been on and Pearl allowed it. Ever since the abrupt departure of Lapis, both from the Earth and the moon, Peridot had been very closed lipped on her former roommate; watching the blue gem leave Earth had been traumatizing enough, but knowing just how close she had been and that she had fled once again was an even harder blow.

The renegade couldn’t help but think about how Rose would’ve liked Peridot, maybe even Lapis and that might’ve been able to stop her from leaving, but that was wishful thinking on her part. There had been a time when the very thought of Rose filled her with equal parts love and sadness, emptiness in knowing that she was only a memory, even if Steven did have her gem.

Now…now Pearl had to push down the anger she felt, the disappointment in having to keep secrets from people she loved, with whom she trusted above all else.

Doubt. That was the feeling that had been growing within her, ever since that ruby had revealed the truth they had wanted Homeworld, the Crystal Gems, and anyone else to believe. Even hearing Garnet tell Steven the reasons for the action, the reason Rose Quartz had shattered Pink Diamond, the reason those two had come up with in order to break Earth out of the control of the Diamonds, had brought up the same feelings.

And now it had come to this.

Doubt, regret, shame…every opposite feeling she had ever felt with this deception now clouded her thoughts.

And now they were falling apart.

 

* * *

 

Two days.

Two and a half, to be exact. That was how long the splintered Crystal Gems had spent looking for one of their own. The only reason they hadn’t been looking for 24 hours straight was because Steven needed sleep and Amethyst whined when she didn’t get to as well. On the surface, it could almost feel like a typical mission if not for Ruby’s relentless goal on trying to find Sapphire, Sapphire’s apparent desire to  _not_  be found, Steven’s reluctant manner of talking about recent events, and Pearl’s struggle to try and pull things back together.

Two and half days were spent looking in every possible place the seer could be – from various former gem locations to places in Beach City. They had even gotten Greg to drive them up to Keystone on the off chance Sapphire was hiding out at the Keystone Motel. That had led to Ruby to lead an excursion through the plains lands of Keystone and Jersey or rather, what was left of them. They were long days that were growing in frustration at not being able to find the blue gem anywhere.

And then the afternoon of the third day rolled around and the group was confronted with another problem.

Ruby was now missing.

At what point the small red gem had decided to continue the search on her own, no one knew, but now instead of just looking for Sapphire, they needed to look for her too. Pearl was starting to run out of locations they could possibly try and Amethyst was suggesting they just start at one warp pad and then trying as many as they knew. Leave it to Amethyst to take a stressful situation and make light of it.

As the gem who was spending most her time with Steven on these searches, Amethyst had made the decision to keep the kid’s spirits up. It wasn’t every day you discovered that your mother wasn’t who you thought she was and while she had her own issues with that, the purple puma knew when it was time to focus on her and time to focus on someone else.

Steven had been quite tight lipped about his feelings on all of this, mostly due to the reaction that came from Garnet and if there was one thing Amethyst knew about, it was the ability to deflect your feelings and move on to something else. She couldn’t imagine what Steven was going through or what Sapphire was going through or what  _Pearl_  was going through – it was all such crap anyways.

So she took Steven with her as they searched the ocean around the sea shrine. Flooded as it may still be, Ruby and Sapphire were gems and weren’t averse to the physical limitations that say, Steven was. Why the two of them would be there, Amethyst didn’t know, but it didn’t matter at that point; they were running out of places to check, so she figured they would just check everywhere.

Honestly, how many places could two small, colored gems be?

Apparently,  _loads_ , according to Pearl.

When Sapphire was in a mood and didn’t want to be found, she could disappear for weeks, if not months at a time; it had actually happened and even  _Ruby_  couldn’t find her for a time. Pearl didn’t go into specifics, but she had alluded that after that final attack on Earth by Homeworld and the Diamonds, the seer just bolted and was missing for nearly two months. It wasn’t as if the others hadn’t looked for her, they did, but given the circumstances, they had let the seer come back on her own.

Amethyst just hoped this wasn’t a repeat of that. There were a lot more spaces and plots of land Sapphire knew about now and possibly stuff that only she or Ruby would know or even places only  _Garnet_  would know, which made searching for both of them now that much harder and more frustrating.

Granted, she didn’t know Rose during the rebellion and the war, but she did know the gem and finding out that, well, she wasn’t who she really said she was did sting something fierce, but like Greg, Rose Quartz was real to them and that was the person they loved and cherished. And Amethyst was sure Pearl felt the same way – you had to be blind not to see that the thin gem’s feelings were well past a decorated comrade, but those feelings had grown during the ‘Rose’ portion of her life.

That Amethyst would stake her favorite motor oil on.

She wasn’t sure if Peridot knew, given that Pearl couldn’t say one friggin’ thing about this to anyone, which meant no one had actually told her what was happening. The purple gem couldn’t help it – that annoyed and frustrated her; their entire team was all about getting through tough stuff together, but when tough stuff happened, the first thing they – meaning Garnet or Pearl – did was to cover the whole thing up and not say anything.

Even if they did manage to find Ruby  _and_  Sapphire – because even when apart, those two still managed to do everything together, like disappear together like the jerks they were – they still would need to possibly consider finding Lapis, though if Amethyst was honest, the blue gem had been nothing but a headache at times, not to mention the emotional rollercoaster she was putting Peridot through…

No, if Lapis fell into a black hole, the purple gem wouldn’t be that upset about it.

So Amethyst sucked it in and would be the rock Steven needed, at least until he felt comfortable enough to tell Connie. He barely made it through telling Greg, which was met with confusion and the abrupt interruption from Ruby who did not have time for such trivial things as finding out your girlfriend, lover, and mother of your child was actually the very ruler that your friends rebelled against.

Sometimes they could be seriously selfish – did Ruby just not care about the fact that  _Steven_  might be upset?  _Or Pearl_? Having to keep that secret with no way of telling anyone, even when she desperately wanted to was bogus. Amethyst loved Rose, she truly, absolutely did, but learning about some of the stuff she did made her mad and just…

Disappointed.

Maybe that was how Sapphire felt and the purple gem couldn’t fault her for that, but she wasn’t the only one reeling from all of this. And they still had to tell Peridot and Connie least they find out the way they had, from a second-hand source.

So, Amethyst let it go. She knew how this went and for Steven and Pearl’s sake, she’d go along with it. She knew all about how to smile when on the inside you were just crashing down.

 

* * *

 

The morning on the fourth day had only just begun when Peridot had sat herself on the couch. She had either missed the others or they hadn’t come out yet; it had to have been the former because she didn’t hear the sounds of Steven sleeping and she didn’t see the familiar form of Amethyst sitting on the couch, nor did she see Pearl, who was usually the first one up and in the kitchen.

Pumpkin was still asleep in the tub, so the green gem left her there as she woke for the day. It was day four without any signs of Sapphire and the start of a second day without sight of Ruby; and it was another day without the calming presence of Garnet.

Peridot wasn’t sure how she felt about this, only that there was something going on that Pearl was physically incapable of telling her, something so big and possibly bad that even Steven and Amethyst weren’t talking about it. Ruby had stated that Sapphire was missing and then Ruby had disappeared; was it Homeworld? Could the two have been taken the way Steven and his friends had?

Was this about Lapis?

Even thinking about the blue gem caused an ache in her body, feelings of sadness, hurt, and the twinge of anger rolling around inside. She wasn’t a stupid clod – she knew Lapis had issues regarding her initial time on Earth the first time and it certainly wasn’t helped with her capture and interrogation from her and Jasper. And then of course, there was  _Jasper_ …

Lapis didn’t discuss much about what happened before and during the war, so Peridot never pursued it, but in hindsight, she wished she had. Things were different now, better! If the former kindergartner could see the beauty of Earth and make friends with the Crystal Gems, surely Lapis would find a way to do so as well? But the answer to that question was, apparently, no; while Peridot hadn’t gotten the full story, Steven had at least told her that he had found Lapis, hiding on the moon with the barn.

That…was good, yes, but it also meant that the blue gem was so uncomfortable on Earth, she had to go to a nearby planet or, as Steven explained, she missed Earth and the people on it, that she couldn’t go far. Well…at least the first time. Again, no deep introspection as Steven had just said the two had a misunderstanding, something that caused Lapis to flee once again, this time leaving the barn on the moon and flying off, who knew where.

Peridot just didn’t understand and as a gem that prided herself on her intellect, this problem was starting to give her a throbbing ache just behind her gem.

The engineer didn’t have time to figure out what that could mean, as the light from the warp pad lit up and revealed the haggard form of the very ruby soldier they’d been looking for since yesterday afternoon. Despite being a gem and not subjected to the calls and stresses of exhaustion, there was no other word to describe the red gem as she lumbered towards the couch and threw herself on it.

Ruby pretty much looked exactly how Peridot felt.

“Still no sign of Sapphire?” the green gem inquired.

“No,” Ruby sighed, closing her eyes slightly before opening them again. “No word from Lapis?”

Peridot managed to slump further than she had been. “No,” she murmured.

It didn’t escape Peridot’s notice that she and Ruby were pretty much in the same ship, as Earthlings would say. While she and Lapis didn’t have the type of relationship that Ruby and Sapphire did – and Peridot knew the subject of fusion was a tricky subject to even consider around the water gem – she had least thought they had been…were…friends, and close ones at that.

But maybe that was just something  _Peridot_  felt; maybe Lazuli didn’t think anything more of the green gem, despite their activities at the barn. Not that Sapphire didn’t in fact care about Ruby – you’d need to be extremely close in order to stay a permanent fusion for several millennia and Peridot had seen just how close those two were.

However, here they were – her and Ruby – sitting on a couch in Steven’s home, commiserating about two of Blue Diamond’s own gems, who after hearing information about one or all of the Diamonds, had taken it upon themselves to up and leave, never once considering the impact that it would have on the people they left behind.

Peridot winced. She knew that wasn’t true of either gem and certainly not Sapphire, but well…she couldn’t exactly say, could she? She had technically only met the smaller gem once and that wasn’t even a proper introduction, but it had been interesting to watch the two components of Garnet interact with each other.

After the baseball game had concluded and the ruby squad had left the planet to make their way to the very empty and very frozen wasteland that was Neptune, Garnet had apologized for the sudden reveal. There had been jokes after that, from Pearl and Garnet herself at least, on just how lovestruck the two smaller gems could be. Pearl had started one story, but then stopped when she realized Steven was eagerly awaiting to hear it, citing that he was way too young to be hearing stories like that, even with Amethyst whining that she was more than older enough and mature enough to handle it.

Peridot never got to hear the story, but whatever it was, it kept a blush on Garnet’s face for the rest of the day.

So while this situation was horrible for Peridot, it was probably nothing when compared to Ruby. “Ruby?” she asked.

“Yeah?”

“This sucks.”

The former soldier nodded in agreement. “Yeah,” she sighed. “It does.”

A few moments later, the warp pad lit up again, this time revealing the missing trio that should’ve been in the house. Amethyst and Steven stood in the front, while Pearl stood behind them and all three immediately noted that at least one of the gems they had been looking for was sitting right in front of them.

“Ruby!” Pearl exclaimed. “You’re here! Thank goodness. We…we were hoping to find you, so…glad we have.”

There had been obvious tension between the two long time friends for days now, another clue that just cemented something was happening within the group that Peridot was left out of the loop of. The green gem had never seen a disagreement between Pearl and Garnet before, though Amethyst had once told her that she and Pearl had pushed the very personal button of fusion once and Garnet was not having it. It was more a conflict between the older gems, but Amethyst and Steven had been caught in the middle, even when that hadn’t been the intention.

The small quartz never went into detail about what happened, only that Peridot respect what the aspect of fusion meant to Garnet and to not mess with it. Peridot had no reason to, especially now that she had an understanding of  _why_  Garnet remained a fusion and certainly, her time with Lapis taught her that bringing up fusion of any kind was a taboo subject around the water gem.

Amethyst’s greeting wasn’t nearly as cheerful or tact as Pearl’s. She wasted no time in marching to the couch and punching Ruby hard in the arm. “Hey!”

“Jerk,” the quartz muttered, taking a seat besides the former solider.

“Brat,” came the retort, as Ruby tried to rub the pain from her arm.

“Guys,” Steven whined. “Please, don’t fight.”

Both gems deflated, their annoyance with each other and the situation still in the air, but tempered by Steven’s plea. “Did you find her?” Ruby asked, expectantly.

“No,” Pearl sighed. “I think we have figuratively, and possibly literally, searched all the places I could think of that she could be.”

“Dude, where is your common law?” Amethyst questioned. “I’m starting to think she might have pulled a Lapis and she’s hiding out on the moon.” A small whimper came from the other side of couch. The purple quartz leaned past Ruby to say, “Sorry, Peri. That was rude.”

The engineer waved off her concern. “No,” she huffed. “You’re most likely right. It would be just like Lazuli to be hiding out in some stupid cave off-planet somewhere.”

Ruby closed her eyes again, doing her best to push away the growing heartache that had beset her form since this whole thing began. She had hoped to find Sapphire by now, to get some idea or clue or where she could possibly be so she could help her, so they could help each other. It had just been them for months before they stumbled, literally, into Pearl and…

The former soldier squeezed her eyes tight, forcing both the tears and the heat rising back; it wouldn’t do to burn either Amethyst or Peridot and she certainly didn’t want to set Steven’s couch on fire, but she couldn’t help it. She needed Sapphire and Sapphire needed her and the blue gem had made it near impossible to find…

Her eyes snapped open as her mind replayed Peridot’s last words, causing her to turn and look at the gem to her right. “What did you just say?” she interrupted.

As Ruby was pushing down her internal conflict, conversation had continued around her. Peridot, shocked and slightly put off from the interruption, repeated the last thing she said. “I was saying, that perhaps the moon base could give us…”

“What?” the soldier interrupted again, much to the ire of the green gem at her side. Ruby realized that she had skipped a loop in the conversation, because this was a topic she completely missed, but she’d get caught up later. “No,” she stammered. “The…the thing you said earlier, about Lapis being off-planet or something?”

“That it would be just like her to find a cave somewhere?” Peridot asked, unsure if that was the conversation Ruby was referring to.

A flash of realization registered on Ruby’s face, before she immediately brought a hand to her face. “Oh my st…ugh! Idiot,” she muttered.

“Ruby?” Steven asked, cautiously, watching as the small gem proceeded to hop up, cross over the coffee table, and make her way towards the warp pad.

“Yo,” Amethyst asked. “Where’re you going?”

Ruby stood before the group, letting out a sigh that was a mix of relief and realized stupidity.

“I know where Sapphire is.”

 

* * *

 

There had been no destination in mind, however Sapphire managed to find herself amongst the familiar lush greenery she had first seen when arriving on the planet’s surface. Her eye was foggy with tears, her mind in turmoil from what she had learned.

That had been some time ago, days, weeks, months – to be honest, she wasn't exactly sure how long she had been in her present location. Her mind had been clouded and if she was capable of having a heart, it would’ve broken the moment Pearl and Steven had sat them down to explain… _everything_.

Rose Quartz was, in reality, Pink Diamond.

The very ruler who had claimed Earth for her colony, who had refused to see the life that thrived on the planet, who had stolen away humans and placed them in a human zoo in space. The same maniacal tyrant that the Crystal Gems had been formed to fight against, the same Diamond who was trying to squash everything they were standing up for. It was all a lie.

_Rose Quartz was a lie._

Did that mean the rebellion was a lie too? That everything they fought for, everyone who had died, who had been shattered… it was all for nothing?

When Sapphire had warped in, she hadn’t known where she was at first, just knowing that she was somewhere she knew. The grasslands against the backdrop of the mountains could’ve been anywhere, but it was only when she had walked further through the land, when she had come across a small alcove, hidden through trees and a thick patch of roses.

_I don’t…upset you?_

_Don’t **ever**  question this._

The seer had immediately stopped in her tracks before going any further. She couldn’t believe she had come here, almost without thinking, which only made her even more upset. Rose…Pink…the  _imposter_  had once told her not to question the confusing feelings associated with being in a fusion, in being Garnet; at the time, she had thought it was a statement on their fusion, on the growing feelings between the high class gem and her ruby guard.

But what if it wasn’t?

Since that time, Garnet had done exactly that – she didn’t question the nature of things anymore, utilizing her precognition to see the various outcomes of situations, possibilities that opened new pathways, new avenues of discovery. And until now, that direct had been a staple of Garnet’s character; it was something Sapphire, especially, could rely on.

But then Steven had given himself up to Homeworld, had gone to the very place they had tried to keep away from him. It had  _never_  once passed her visions that his former actions with Peridot would bring about Aquamarine and Topaz. None of her visions ever saw that, not as Sapphire, not as Garnet. She never foresaw the donut shop boy accompanying Steven and she certainly never saw his death and resurrection.

They had never even known Rose… _the imposter_ …could do that. Healing tears were one thing, but being able to bring back life?

And of course, Garnet never questioned it because  _Garnet never questioned anything_. What if that was the point? Pink Diamond had manufactured a rebel gem in the form of Rose Quartz and had ordered her own pearl – Pearl, their first friend, someone they trusted the same way they had Bismuth and Ro… - to keep her mouth shut on events that had been falsified.

What if that simple statement had been more than a statement? What if it had been a direct order? From a Diamond to one of her subjects?

Instinctively, Sapphire knew that couldn’t be possible, at least not for her. She was a sapphire in Blue Diamond’s court and could only be ordered by her to do anything and even then, it wouldn’t have been anything the way Pearl had been ordered to keep this secret. Ruby was an exception – back in the days when rubies, jaspers, amethysts, and other soldier class gems didn’t belong to one particular Diamond, they were required to obey  _all_  of the Diamonds, regardless.

But Garnet didn’t exactly belong to a Diamond, did she? Or maybe she did, once she joined the vaulted Crystal Gems. Had any of them actually been fighting for what they believed in? Or had they been just another form of controlled subjects, only by a Diamond in disguise?

The possibilities of this deception were many, far too many for Sapphire to truly comprehend, especially not in a spot where that very deception had been right in front of her, of them, the entire time. Now that she was here, it was only a few more miles to another destination, the place where she truly needed to be.

It was a long walk, but it was something she needed and in order to keep her emotions from spiraling out of control, she had to keep moving, even if she knew she was leaving an easy trail to be followed. Luckily, the weather was much nicer and warmer than the first time she had been in the area and if she hadn’t been in such straights, she would’ve stopped to enjoy the fresh air and beautiful landscape.

Instead, the seer continued her journey, questions plaguing her as she did. There were so many questions, so many that couldn’t and wouldn’t be answered, and too many possibilities and paths that could’ve been taken and now wouldn’t.

Sapphire quickened her pace, thankful that she was the only one in the area to avoid notice. It could’ve been hours or even a day before she reached her destination, but time was no matter to her and if she was lucky, Ruby would leave her to her thoughts before coming to find her. That brought up her other half and only made her rush to the area she wanted to be in.

Within the deeper part of the mountain valley were a number of deep impressions on the sides of the hills and rock face. Even after several millennia, the cave she walked into hadn’t been disturbed too much; there was more debris on the floor from possible wind or storms and it was a bit more musty and humid than she remembered, though given the first time she was there, it was had been raining and she had just fled from a life she had known for nearly five hundred years.

Now that she was here, Sapphire immediately sat down near the far wall, and started crying. How could this happen? And how could she have been so blind to it? Rose Quartz was Pink Diamond, Pink Diamond was Rose Quartz; how could she have hid this from her? From  _them_? How could Pearl not have said anything about this?

Sapphire, to that extent Garnet, knew and understood the burdens of leadership. They knew there were secrets Rose didn’t tell them and for a time, those decisions made sense. And then they learned about Bismuth. Bubbling her made sense – she had created a terrible weapon, something that went against the entire point of their rebellion, her line of thinking could have easily split the Crystal Gems, and she attacked Rose – and she could respect that. But then she never told them about her; during the war, keeping her disappearance a secret made sense and must’ve been a hard decision to make.

But after the war ended, after they had mourned all the friends they had lost, after they had come to grips with the aftermath of what the Diamonds had done and what that now meant, and after they had found Amethyst, they should’ve been told the truth. Rose should’ve told them, then and there, about what had happened to Bismuth and most importantly, who she really was. That’s what hurt more than anything, that R…the imposter had cared so little about them cared so little about the gems who had followed her to even tell them the truth of their service.

Everything was now in question. Had the entire rebellion and war been a ruse and game done by the Diamonds? If so, why? Was this instead just a ploy done by Pink Diamond? To gather forces together and have them destroyed? That didn’t make any sense, but then again, none of this made sense. Why? Why would R…why would they do this?

Did they not realize how this affected everything? Every decision, every choice, every path had been changed by this grotesque idea. Garnet had been their tactical advisor, thanks to the precognition ability from Sapphire; how many of their plans could’ve been changed if they had known the truth? How many gems could they have saved? How long would the war have lasted had they known their rebellious leader was actually the former Diamond in charge of the colony they fought to save?

Sapphire couldn’t remember the last time she had been so confused and so angry; in fact, these feelings she usually associated with arguments she had with Ruby. But with as many disagreements she had with her partner, they had never left her in such straights. Ruby…the very circumstances of their meeting were now in question; would they have even met if not for the actions of the rebels?

Her emotions were raw and all over the place, which caused her cryokinesis to lash out around her, filling the space with ice and frost, and chilling the very environment around her.

A frozen tundra wrapped within a small, enclosed space.

Which was exactly what Ruby and the others found when they arrived.

 

* * *

 

Ruby mentally kicked herself for not realizing where Sapphire would be. In hindsight, it made perfect sense and once she knew the location, the soldier admitted that she probably understood why the seer had gone there in the first place. None of this was easy on any of them, but Sapphire had been blessed with the ability to see future events and knowing that those events could have turned out differently if she had highly important information available to her could easily spin her world view.

Ruby didn’t want to  _begin_  to think how events could’ve played out if they had known the truth, which meant that was  _all_  Sapphire was thinking of. Every vision, every possibility that she had ever seen, all the ones  _Garnet_  had seen – her annoyance with herself was the fact that her partner had been suffering this alone for four days. Once the realization was made, Steven, Amethyst, and Pearl immediately joined the soldier on the warp pad, telling Peridot to stay, just in case Sapphire returned while they were out. The green gem wasn’t happy about that, but acquisesce none the less and kept her position on the couch as the warp’s light stream took the quartet to whatever location Ruby was taking them.

“So…” Steven began, as their travel began. “Where do you think Sapphire went?”

“You’ll know it when you see it,” Ruby muttered, arms crossed and a pensive look on her face.

That was the amount of conversation that went on until the group landed at their destination, which was the middle of a grassy hillside. Without waiting for the group, Ruby immediately walked off the pad and began a trek forward, causing the others to quickly catch up to her. “Yo, Rubes,” Amethyst huffed. “Why are we here and where are we going?”

“Are we near the Cloud Arena?” Pearl asked, looking around the environment. Despite not being in this particular area for millennia, the former servant clearly remembered her mad dash with Rose as they fled the area after nearly being caught by Blue Diamond’s forces.

“Yeah.”

“But that would mean…”

“ _Yes_ , Pearl.”

Ruby didn’t need to go into detail – and she hoped she wouldn’t have to – but Pearl got the gist immediately. If they were near the Cloud Arena, that meant they weren’t far from where the two members of the Crystal Gems ended up officially meeting the strange fusion that had been created before their – and Homeworld’s – eyes. To be honest, Pearl was surprised Sapphire would be in the area, considering her reaction to…earlier; however, while Pearl had been a witness to Ruby and Sapphire fusing, she hadn’t really known where the two had gone after fleeing Blue Diamond’s court.

Again, the group was silent as they walked. Soon, the hillside began to flatten slightly, opening into a mountain valley, with a few small hills and a few caves that were dug within the side. Steven’s mind suddenly went to the exit holes within the prime and beta kindergartens, wondering if these ‘caves’ were actually the former homes of gems; thankfully, the closer they got, the easier it was to see that these were man made.

Ruby and Pearl both stopped at the same time, causing the others to stop behind them. Just as Steven was about to ask why they had stopped, he heard Amethyst let out a “Whoa” that caused him to peer around Pearl. It was undeniable that Sapphire had been in the area; the two had stopped right at a frozen patch of ice, that began a trail that had quickly melted under the sun and led directly to a cavern opening.

Which was covered in a heavy sheet of ice.

“I can’t remember the last time Sapphire was  _this_  upset,” Pearl mumbled, surprise and concern showing on her face.

“It was the garden,” Ruby answered. “Though…this is…serious.”

“I didn’t even know Sapphire could do that!” Amethyst said, in awe. While she may have been aware and known the two gems that made up the fusion, the purple gem spent time and was more familiar with Garnet and she had never seen  _anything_  like this before. 

“Only when she’s very angry,” Pearl supplied.

“And that’s usually at me,” the ruby added. Taking a needed breath, Ruby squared her shoulders and started forward.

“Ruby…”

“Trust me,” she replied, looking back at the others. “I’m the one person she wants to see right now.”

The former soldier just followed the ice trail, which began to grow heavier the closer she got to the cave entrance. The front of the cave was nearly covered in a thick layer of ice, a clear indication that Sapphire’s emotions were wildly out of control. She and Pearl hadn’t been wrong – the last time the seer’s emotions got this out of control was when she had turned one half of a potential garden for Ro…for the Crystal Gems into a frozen tundra.

Ruby had, of course, turned the other side into a fiery inferno.

That had been a pretty bad argument between them.

Using her own pryrokenesis, Ruby melted the patch of ice that was the very unwelcome mat placed before the very cold ice door. Testing the thickness of the barrier, she began tapping on the ice with her knuckle before sighing.

“Not gonna make this easy, are you?”

Placing her left hand on the thick ice, she allowed for heat to flow through her arm, up to her palm and through her fingers, melting the ice that blocked her from the seer.

It took longer than Ruby was happy with, but soon she was able to create a decent sized hole in which to step through. Walking in, she wasn’t surprised to feel the chill in the air or see the way the inside of the cave was frozen over. Her eyes scanned the small cave until they quickly landed on the seer, who was seated near the back wall, completely in the cold dark.

“Honey, I’m home.”

The greeting didn’t change anything for the blue gem, however she did ask, “How long has it been?”

“Four days, 6 hours, and about 20 minutes, give or take,” the red gem replied, walking deeper into the cave, before taking a seat next to the seer on the ground. Ruby didn’t miss the way their current seating arrangement mirrored their previous one, the first time they had been in this cave.

A new fire pit seemed to have been placed before the blue gem, though Ruby couldn’t tell if it was the same pit that she had created so long ago. Not wasting any time, she leaned forward, placing her hand down on the debris that was littered before them, creating a small fire that brought needed warmth into the cave.

“Are you alright?”

“No,” Sapphire sighed. “Are you?”

Shaking her head, Ruby replied with, “I’m better now that I’ve found you, but no. Not really.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

The two were silent for a moment before Sapphire whispered, “What’re we going to do about this, Ru?”

“I don’t know,” murmured the former soldier. “This…doesn’t seem real.”

“Because it’s not,” the seer spat. An arc of frost lashed out from under her, barely touching Ruby’s leg from where she sat. Thankfully, the outburst didn’t affect the fire, which was going a long way to take the chill from the already dank environment.

“Sapph…”

“She  _lied_  to us, Ruby,” the seer hissed, the venom returning in her statement. “Every decision, every path,  _every moment_  is utterly tainted by that…that… _imposter_! How many lives could have been saved? How many possibilities were we not given, that  _I_  wasn’t given because of her? This changes everything!”

“It doesn’t change  _everything_ …” Ruby started, but was interrupted by Sapphire, who turned to look at her.

“ _Yes, it does_!” she exclaimed. “Everything that we have done, everything that we experienced was because of  _her_ , Ruby! Every action we’ve done was because of her;  _our fusion_  was due to her interference!”

“Hold the phone,” Ruby stated, firmly, her finger pointing at Sapphire. “Now give the phone to me. Are you seriously suggesting that…  _Pink Diamond_  is responsible for us being together?”

“We never would have fused if not for the rebels attacking Blue Diamond’s court,” Sapphire stressed. “If I hadn’t had that vision, you never would’ve been assigned to escort me to the cloud arena. Rose Quartz, Pink Diamond, whatever her identity of the day is, manipulated everything we know.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“Ruby…”

“I don’t believe that,” Ruby repeated. She pushed aside the bangs that covered the single blue eye, which had already teared up during their outburst. “You, of all people, know that fate isn’t static and can change at a moment's notice. Yeah, Pearl and…and Rose coming to Blue Diamond’s court was foreseen, but you know what? That was just  _one_  path we took; which means there were other possibilities of the two of us meeting.”

“Ruby,” the seer sighed, shaking her head slightly. Her blue eye, which was normally bright in happiness, now shone in sadness, tears slowly flowing from it. “You don’t know that.”

“Yeah,” the red gem insisted, wiping away a tear. “I do. Because we’re fated to be together, Sapphire. And I don’t mean that you would’ve met another ruby or I would’ve escorted another sapphire, I mean the two of us were  _always_  going to meet. And the moment you were in danger, I was  _always_  going to save you, and we were  _always_  going to fuse Garnet.

“Maybe we would’ve joined the rebellion, I don’t know, but I do know the rest. I love you and there was never gonna be another gem for me.”

Sapphire couldn’t help it – she began to cry. It wasn’t just the sentiment behind Ruby’s words, but the sheer conviction that regardless of how they had initially come together, the former soldier fully believed that they would’ve done the same in any timeline. She held the palm that cupped her cheek, pressing it firmer against her face as she nuzzled it.

Looking back at the earnest face that held a hard coded belief, still mixed with concern and worry, the seer answered the unspoken question. “I love you so much, Ruby,” she whispered. “And I don’t regret anything that’s happened between us.”

“Well,” Ruby chuckled. “Maybe some things. That garden we destroyed, for one.”

“Yes, well,” huffed the seer. “In light of recent circumstances, that garden was the  _least_  horrible thing we could’ve done.” Removing Ruby’s hand, Sapphire gave it a squeeze and continued to hold it. “I take it the others are with you?”

The red gem nodded. “Everyone but Peridot,” she whispered. “And Connie and Lapis, for obvious reasons.”

“Even Steven?”

“Especially Steven.”

Sighing sadly, the seer closed her eye. “He must be so confused and so hurt by what I’ve done,” she whispered.

“I don’t know,” Ruby murmured, matching Sapphire’s sigh with one of her own. “I haven’t exactly asked and to be honest, I’m not sure I’m ready to get into all of this with him.”

“We have to,” Sapphire said. “For his sake and ours.”

“And Pearl?”

“That’s…another matter.”

The two stared at each other for a moment, the same feelings and thoughts passing between them. Steven they could forgive, Pearl…was not so easy. This was more than just using their fusion as a way to validate herself, this was keeping a much needed to know secret from them for millennia. Yes, they understood Pearl was under orders – they both knew how the Diamonds worked – but that was little comfort in the aftermath. Rose would’ve done anything for Pearl and vice versa, so Pearl should’ve done more to remove this restrictive command from her person.

Where was the terrifying renegade they had faced in the cloud arena? The pearl without an owner who had been their first and oldest friend? Was that all a lie as well?

“Ruby,” Sapphire started. “Ruby, I love you and I love fusing with you, but I…”

“I know,” the red gem interrupted, returning the squeeze of the hand from earlier. “But that does put us, and everyone else, into an unwanted position.”

The seer huffed, a bitter tone coming across the air. “Garnet never wanted to be leader,” she spat. “And Rose…Pink…whoever she was, knew that. By all rights, Pearl should’ve been the leader of the Crystal Gems.”

“Yeah, well,” Ruby responded. “If in another situation, that might be true, but I don’t  _trust_  Pearl right now, so we need to think of something else.”

“I hate this.”

“Me too.”

Tugging the hand she still held, Ruby pulled Sapphire closer until their foreheads touched. “Tell me what to do,” she whispered. “Whatever you decide, we’ll do. Above anything else, Sapphy, you and me, we’re in this together.”

“You and I,” the blue gem corrected, earning a playful growl from her counterpart.

“Don’t correct me when I’m trying to be deep.”

The joke caused Sapphire to giggle, something she hadn’t done since being alone in that cave. Leave it to Ruby to find some humor in their situation, even if slight. Her gaze trained on the red gem and her earlier words came back to her – Ruby believed they were fated to be together. It was almost a similar concept to the human idea of soul mates.

Steven had explained it to them once, or rather he had explained it to Garnet after watching some updated version of the Lonely Blade movies. The title character and his romantic partner were often called soul mates, or sōrumeito, within the movie and Garnet just had to ask what that meant. Steven, being Steven, had been shocked that after all her years on Earth, she hadn’t known the idea or concept.

It was something Sapphire kept in the back of her mind, the concept of loving someone, so much and for so long; love wasn’t an unknown concept on Homeworld, however there was only one path for it – towards the Diamonds. Loyalty and devotion were always to the Diamonds and to the gem empire. There were very few incidences of that love, devotion, and obedience to anyone or anything outside of that.

Oh, Sapphire had heard tales or rumors of some elite gem using their status and power over anyone under them – pearls, rubies especially, sometimes the occasional jasper or amethyst. But for all her time on Homeworld, the seer had never heard of anything remotely close to what she had with Ruby; their very relationship would have frowned on, discouraged, and even punished, similar to how their fusion was treated.

For every major event, wonderful and tragic, Ruby had been there right beside her. But when thinking of those moments, the first time they landed on the planet’s surface kept returning to her; it was the first time in her existence where her precognition had failed her. And it was the first time she had ever known there to be different possibilities to the future.

And now, once again she was in a position where her visions had been failing her as of late; she had only recently begun to understand why - they still saw the boy Steven had been only a short time ago, the boy who ran to them or Pearl when in distress, the boy who excitedly always asked what she had done on a mission that day, before expertly weaving his own story before her.

In the first, Ruby had been there, had shown her that fate and thus the future wasn’t always set in stone. Garnet could see all the streams and rivers of a single action, pools that overflowed into bigger lakes – oceans of possibilities, both good and bad, and it was Ruby’s presence that allowed for her to see that the world was more than just what fate determined for her.

And here, in this reality where the person they respected the most had lied to them, had been lying to them for millennia, where the leader they would’ve followed to the ends of the galaxy and had betrayed them…Ruby was still here. All of her beliefs had been shaken, but there was always something holding her together.

Or rather, someone.

“I know what you should do,” she whispered, bringing the red gem even closer.

“What?” came the breathy reply.

“You should marry me.”

“Do what now?”

“Ruby, I want you to marry me,” Sapphire repeated.

Ruby looked at the blue gem in surprise and shock. “You…you realize that marriage is purely a human concept,” she stuttered.

“I do.”

“I mean,” Ruby amended. “Not that there’s anything wrong with it…”

“No.”

“Connie’s parents seem to like it.”

“I’m a little distressed that I haven’t heard you say yes yet,” Sapphire quipped. She knew she had done something that was, well for her, unusual. Ruby, like Amethyst, was more in tune with human rituals and the like and while she did find certain aspects of human behavior intriguing, she wasn’t as excited about it the way R…their former  _leader_  had been.

Giving her a look, Ruby said, “I just sat here telling you that we’re fated to be together. So not only should my answer be obvious, but it was basically  _implied_.”

Sapphire chuckled, a small blush appearing on her face. Cupping a hand on the seer’s cheek, Ruby whispered, “Why now? We’ve been together forever; I never thought you’d feel this way or wanted this, so…what’s changed?”

“Everything,” the seer sighed. “Things will never be the same after this, for anyone. However, there is one truth that has always remained true – you. From the moment you saved me from Pearl to arriving and protecting me while here on the planet, to protecting me and keeping me safe during the war, every argument, every disagreement…

“You have always been a constant in my life, Ruby, and I never want to lose that or you. Ever.”

Surging forward, Ruby kissed her; how could she not? She had meant every word she had said – there would never be another gem for her after Sapphire and she wouldn’t even try. If Sapphire went down, she’d go down, though she’d do everything she could to prevent that from ever happening.

She had never understood how a sapphire’s visions worked until she had fused with hers; she had seen so many future paths, ways that their decisions could change the tide of things to come. The reasoning had alluded them for years until it finally dawned on them the truth – Ruby’s impulsive nature, her unpredictable actions when it came to Sapphire, her very nature was the reason Garnet could see so many possibilities.

Ending the kiss slowly, Ruby leaned her forehead against the blue gem’s. “Yes,” she murmured. “Of course the answer is and always will be yes. You didn’t even need to ask.”

They stayed like that for a few minutes more, before mutually deciding to leave the cold cave and venturing outside into the world. As soon as they were seen by the others, Sapphire found herself wrapped up in a hug by Steven. It hurt to know she had worried him so, even more in knowing the boy must be feeling the same emotions she was in light of all of this.

Sapphire made a point to avoid Pearl, which the thinner gem respected, even though the action hurt. The walk back to the warp pad was as silent as it had been when the quartet had first arrived and the warp stream was even more tension filled as it had been when they entered. Arriving back at the beach house, Peridot immediately jumped from her seat on the couch.

Pumpkin rested beside her and it appeared she was practicing her metal abilities with a few pots and pans, which instantly fell with a loud bang the moment she lost her concentration. “You’re back!” she cried, getting to her feet. “And you found Sapphire! That’s great!”

“Yeah,” Amethyst huffed, marching off the pad with Steven following. “The daring duo is back, once again, so hopefully we can now get on with our lives.”

“Amethyst…” Pearl admonished. While she knew the purple gem must have been as shocked as they all were to learn what they had, sometimes she could lash out in the worst possible way. Sighing, the thinner gem walked off the warp pad, making her way towards the kitchen.

“Pearl.”

“Yes?” she asked, spinning around once she heard Sapphire call her name.

“A moment of your time, if you would,” the seer replied. Ruby glanced at her, wondering if they were actually going to do this now and by the way Sapphire turned and began to head into the temple, she knew the answer was yes, they were doing this right now.

Holding her gem hand up, the temple immediately recognized the sapphire and opened its doors, allowing the seer in. Ruby and Pearl, both standing on the warp pad, watched the blue gem before looking at each other. “After you,” the soldier replied, gesturing for the pearl to go before her.

Which the former servant reluctantly did, with Ruby following in her wake. “The three of you stay here,” Ruby said, throwing the comment over her shoulder.

 

* * *

 

It was hard to say how much time was spent waiting for three of the original Crystal Gems to emerge from inside the temple proper, but it was enough time for Amethyst to drag Peridot with her to the Big Donut for a snack and for Steven to give Connie a forlorn call. By the time, Amethyst and Peridot returned, Ruby was standing in the opening door, apparently looking for the purple gem, who was immediately called to the temple within.

When Steven returned from his call, avoiding most of Connie’s questions and just stating that things were not well with him when asked, Peridot had resumed her position on the couch and was looking at the door in confusion and irritation. Almost twenty minutes later, Connie was walking through the door of the beach house, to the surprise and apparent relief of Amethyst, who had been in the process of calling her.

That was ten minutes ago and the pre-teen found herself sharing the couch with Peridot, while Steven and Amethyst stood before them. With a few moments of that, the temple door opened revealing, Pearl and two gems she had yet to meet.

“What is going on!?” Peridot demanded.

Connie had known Steven, and by extension the gems, for a couple of years now and the last time she had seen the group in such straights was when they had been desperately trying to find a way to rescue Steven from Homeworld; but the mood in the room seemed to be even more dire today than it had been a few months ago. What could have possibly happened?

“Are you guys okay?” she asked, looking at the group before her.

Amethyst looked as irritated as the green gem next to her, the usually jovial gem clearly agitated about something. Behind her, Pearl looked, well in a word, devastated. Connie liked to think she had forged a kinship of friendship with her teacher, something could one day be unique between just the tow of them and in all that time, Connie couldn’t ever recall the look on Pearl’s face now.

There was guilt, a heavy amount if she guessed right, but also a resignation that the pre-teen had never seen before. Next to her were the two smaller gems that Connie had never seen before, but with the absence of Garnet, there was only one guess to who the two could be.

“No,” the red gem sighed. “Not at all.” As though realizing who she was addressing, the gem did give her a slight smile. “Hey Connie.”

“Hey.”

“Our apologies for meeting you this way,” Sapphire replied, nodding respectfully at the teen. “We always seem to make our introduction during highly stressful situations.”

The purple gem turned to regard the seer. “Our meeting wasn’t stressful,” she said.

“Didn’t we meet after a corrupted gem had poofed Ruby and you had to watch me pace around for several hours?”

Amethyst thought about it before nodding and turning back to face her audience. “Touché.”

“We just have horrible timing,” Ruby joked.

“Okay, seriously,” Connie interrupted, now disturbed more than ever by everyone’s reactions – especially Steven’s, which was not reacting to anything. “What is this? What’s happened?”

“I concur,” Peridot added. “The last few days have been very confusing, if I do say so myself. Which I did.”

“Right to the point,” Amethyst replied, a strange smile coming to her face. “I like that. Well then, I won’t keep you two in suspense. Rose Quartz…was actually Pink Diamond.”

Both human and gem looked at the gem in shock.

“Excuse me?” Connie asked.

“You’re excused,” came the flippant remark.

“That’s…that’s…” the engineer sputtered. “Is this a joke? Ames, are you making fun?” Because that had to be one of Amethyst’s patented practical jokes. Peridot had to admit, out of the ones she knew and heard about, this was by far the most clever.

“For once, Peri, this is actually something I couldn’t begin to make up if I tried.”

The green gem almost thought she was still being tricked, but the somber faces on the others made her mind up for her; while Amethyst would have joked about this, Pearl nor Garnet (or assumedly, her component gems) would not.

“Th-that’s…that’s not possible,” she muttered.

“It’s…possible,” Pearl whispered, before one of her hands instantly flew to cover her mouth. She tried her best to remove, a muffled scream of frustration filling the stunned silence. Connie watched in horrified fascination as her mentor wrestled with her own hand, before turning her attention to Steven.

Once the muffled scream had rung out, the teen had immediately flinched, his face filling with guilt. “It’s possible and it happened,” he said, looking away. “Pearl was there.”

“But that would…that means…how could…” Peridot stuttered, shaking her head. Rose Quartz was Pink Diamond!? “Wait,” she said, looking at Steven in awe. “Does…does that mean Steven…is part Diamond?”

“No!” Steven shouted, turning angered eyes on the gem before him. A beat later, the harshness left him and he had to think about the possible complexities of this new realities. “Wait, am I?” he asked, looking at Amethyst before turning to look at the three former Homeworld gems behind him.

Noticeably, none of them returned his look.

“We’ll deal with that hot mess later,” the purple gem huffed, turning her attention back to the two relatively newer members of the group. “But yeah, so that’s the big news. And as you can see, the rest of us aren’t handling it well, some of us more than others. So, to keep up appearances of a completely unified and non-distressed group, Steven and I are gonna run the CGs for the time being.”

“You are?” Steven asked. “Wait, we are!?”

“Yeah,” Amethyst replied. “Sorry. I was gonna tell you while we were gonna wait for Connie, but then she showed up, so…surprise!”

Peridot and Connie were, in a word, speechless. The famed leader of the Crystal Gems was in actuality, one of the members of the Diamond Authority? How did that happen? Why did it happen? How did no one – not the Diamonds, nor the Crystal Gems – not see this kind of deception?

Amethyst hadn’t minced words about this revelation was affecting everyone. As a former kindergartner for Homeworld, Peridot knew this new information must be devastating for Pearl, Ruby, and Sapphire; after all, they had fled from established roles on their home planet to follow someone who wasn’t even whom she seemed. And while the engineer had understood Pearl’s reluctance to say anything about the current situation, the truth was even more damning.

Was Pearl… _the pearl_  to Pink Diamond??

Peridot had always suspected that Pearl had been made for a higher purposed gem, but she had thought a morganite or maybe a sapphire, but a  _Diamond_?

Connie’s gaze had immediately gone straight to Steven. Her best friend already struggled with being in the shadow of Rose Quartz, the famed and fearless leader of the Crystal Gems and now to discover that she was actually the very person who had tried to claim Earth in the first place?

The pre-teen had never said it, out loud, but she didn’t have nearly as much respect for Rose that the others did; after Pearl’s outburst to them in the sky arena, her opinion of Rose had dropped significantly. Knowing that Steven would now always be in constant danger because his mother’s people naturally assumed he was her, made her annoyed at the gem; then seeing her best friend – her first friend and hopefully first of many things – willingly forfeit his life to make up for the sins of his mother, well…that’s when Connie had really started to  _hate_  Rose.

She knew Steven felt the same on a subconscious level; for every good deed she did, Rose managed to pull ten bad ones on people she pretended to care and love. Oh geez, did  _Mr. Universe_  know?

“What…” she began, before clearing her throat. “What does it mean? For us now?”

Amethyst chuckled, a dark and bitter tinge to it. “Well, Connie, I’ll tell ya,” she began. “It sucks. It sucks giant monkey…”

“Amethyst!”

“Rocks,” the purple gem amended, throwing a smug look over her shoulder. “And not a moment too soon, I’ll say.” Pointing to the empty space next to Peridot, she continued with, “We’re already down one member -” Turning to wave a finger between Ruby and Sapphire, she said, “And our illustrious leader has literally, and figuratively, fallen apart.”

She then added Pearl into the mix by gesturing between all three gems, saying, “And who knows when these three yahoos are gonna start talking to each other again.”

“W-we…we’re talking to each other!” Ruby protested.

“Oh yes,” Amethyst huffed, turning back to the human and gem sitting on the couch. “I could tell from the  _deep_  conversation you were all having in the temple. And you know if I’m having issues with this, you know there’s a 225% change that our boy Steven here is going through an identity crisis as we speak!”

Startled, Steven looked at everyone in surprise. “I’m…No, I…” he stuttered. “I’m…what? Guys, I-I’m fine. I’m okay.”

“Aw Steve-o,” the purple gem cooed, placing a sisterly hand on his shoulder. “You’re not. You’re totally not. None of us are!” Turning back to the two before her, she again giggled. “In fact,” she said. “The two of you would be far more effective leaders than the five of us combined! We are totally and absolutely janked. So says your leader.”

Looking at the two before her, she continued with, “Now! Questions? Comments? Anyone?” Connie tentatively raised her hand. “Yes, you in the shirt.”

“I have so many questions,” the teen admitted. “But…very little comment?”

“I also have many, many questions,” Peridot replied. “And many comments.”

“Great!” Amethyst replied. “Fantastic. I don’t want to hear any of them. Welp, I’m starving. Nothing like delivering devastating and life changing news to perk up an appetite. I’m leaving.”

“But what about…?” Peridot questioned, pointing towards the kitchen where a bag of donuts still sat on the kitchen island. Amethyst ignored her, continuing her walk towards the door even when Ruby tried to stop her.

“Amethyst,” Ruby chided. “We didn’t discuss this.”

“Nope,” the gem replied, walking out the door. “Peace!”

The three elder gems watched the departure with annoyance, with Pearl turning to the smaller gems next to her, poised to make a statement on the matter. “Pearl,” Ruby growled. “If you say something, I will slap the face off of your face.”

Sufficiently chastised, the thinner gem stood straight before clapping her hands and facing the remaining gems. “Well,” she announced, her voice slightly shaken. “Connie! I couldn’t help but notice you’ve brought…your sword.”

Connie nodded, slowly. “Yes, ma’am,” she whispered. “We were supposed to have a lesson today.”

“Excellent!” Pearl cried, in fake excitement. “What a great idea! That…you…well, come on! The day is…still early, somewhat.”

“Pearl, are you sure we…?”

“Absolutely! So…let’s go!”

Connie stood slowly, reaching for the sword that had once belonged to the gem who had started, well…everything. Instead of it being a symbol for the rebellion, it had suddenly lost its mystical sheen. “Pearl,” she asked, her eyes straying to the familiar pink sword within it’s iconic sheath. “Would it be possible for me to borrow of your swords for today?”

“What?” asked the gem before her eyes also caught sight of the former weapon of Rose Quartz. “Right. Yes. Yes! Of course, Connie.”

Pearl began to head towards the warp pad, every intention of heading to the sky arena until a muttered comment from Sapphire stopped.

“Let’s see how long you can keep this allegiance going.”

Pearl had held her tongue for long enough. Yes, she was felt horrible at what was happening, but she was just as upset about this as everyone else. Their previous talk had hurt, it really did, to know that two of her greatest friends – who made up her oldest friend – not only felt they couldn’t trust, but thought so little of her now. Did they believe this was something she had wanted? She had never wanted this! And seeing the fallout hurt and disturbed her deeply, more than she could possibly ever begin to express.

In all of their years knowing each other, Pearl and Garnet had flare ups, usually revolving around their planning stances during the war, with one of them believing one tactic would work and the other taking the opposite position. Even with her deception regarding Sardonyx and the communication hub, Pearl could count on her hand the number of times she had a conflict with either Ruby or Sapphire.

Turning sharply, Pearl sneered at the seer. “Shall I report back, your grand clarity?”

“No,” Ruby interrupted, quickly heading off whatever comment Sapphire was ready to spout back. “Pearl, sky arena! And take Peridot and Steven with you. You -” she hissed, pointing at Sapphire. “Come with me.”

“I’m not sure I like your tone,” Sapphire murmured.

“You never do, dear,” the soldier replied, gently pushing the blue gem towards the door.

It was clear Pearl was irritated by the comment, but the thinner gem remained calm as she watched the two smaller gems leave. It was only when Steven had turned to follow that she said anything.

“Steven,” she said. “I think Ruby can handle this.”

The teen shook his head. “I’m gonna go see Dad,” he said. “He should know what’s going on right now.”

That statement was the end of the moment, as the hybrid walked out the door and the three reluctantly made their way to the sky arena.


End file.
